In racing, how fast you want to go is directly proportional to how much money you have to spend. Sure talent and luck both factor in there somewhere, but by and large, speed is a direct byproduct of currency. So it’s no surprise that F1, the pinnacle of motorsport engineering and competition, spends more money than the GDP of most small countries every season. Former FIA boss Max Mosely tried to crack down on team spending, and more importantly team fuel consumption and emissions, but his impact was negligible at best. Now the FIA has a new head honcho – Jean Todt – and the guy says he’s serious about cracking down on out of control spending and the sports decidedly un-green image.

Todt says he’s committed to bringing the sport’s cost down and encouraging teams to adopt greener technology, but unlike his predecessor, Todt is willing to take a hard line to make it happen. What does that mean? While venues like Le Mans have actively encouraged alternative fuels and drivetrains, F1 continues to burn through old dinosaurs by the millions of barrels. Todt says he’ll “encourage” teams to adopt new technology and innovations, and odds are those that refuse will suffer punitive action. In short, the guy wants the sport to gel with what’s going on in the real world, and down here, none of us are blowing fat stacks of cash on our own private fuel reserves.

Source Autopia